Today is Pentecost Sunday. Most of you know this as the day we celebrate the appearance of the Holy Spirit to the disciples in the book of Acts. For churches that place a heavy emphasis on the Holy Spirit, and not all do, this is the Sunday we preach about the Holy Spirit. For others, it is a yearly birthday celebration for the birth of the Christian church. Not the faith, those disciples had seen the risen Christ and were already believers, but the creation of the church.

Here we are stuck about in the middle of Mothers Days in May and Fathers Day in June and now we have Church Day. But I'm willing to bet that none of us have sent cards, found gifts, or made reservations to take our church out to lunch. Churches just don't get much respect these days.

Mothers and fathers are endangered species but most people still love them. The Christian church, however, is in a hand me down kind of category when it comes to appreciation. The Holy Spirit has been on a roll since the 1970s. More Christians today consider themselves spiritual than religious. Although I still confused about how that's possible.

The Holy Spirit is considered to be alive, gift-giving, emotionally fulfilling, and even comforting. The church, well that's something we don't even tell our neighbors we care about. Church is, well, demanding, routine, a kill joy, and something we do when there's nothing else better to do on Sunday morning.

I got news for all of us, Pentecost is not about the Holy Spirit, its about the Christian Church. When you talk about your house you talk about the home you live in, not the contractor who built it. In God's plan the Holy Spirit is the contractor who built and maintains Jesus' home on earth. And if referring to this congregation as the home of Jesus Christ, let me remind you that Apostle Paul referred to the church, that is the congregation of believers, as the body of Christ.

Without the Church the Holy Spirit would have nothing to do. Now you're are probably saying it would still be alive in the life of individual Christians. No it wouldn't. The divine pipeline runs from God, through the church, to individual believers. You cut off the major pipeline from God to the church and individual believers will be left spiritually high and dry. In fact they wouldn't even be Christian.

I got in a whale of a lot of trouble during my first pastorate in Rocky Ford, Colorado, when I mailed out a church newsletter in the community which said that folks who don't attend church aren't Christians. Even my fellows on the Rocky Ford Pastors Circle went after me. Until I explained that I wasn't talking about salvation. I leave that up to God. But I do know what the Bible says, and I do know what Jesus believed, and that is that faith in God is a community affair. A group process that can't really be done on your own.

Let me clarify what I mean by attending church. I'm not talking about sitting in worship. Jesus said where two are three are in my name I'll be there. No by attending I'm mean taking care of others in your believers group, celebrating God's love and grace, praying, singing, considering God's Word in the Bible, and finally taking care of others outside your group. . Churches can come in many different styles, shapes, and sizes. We Anabaptist have always said the church is not the building but the people. We used to be happy to worship in kitchens and barns.

The strength and weakness of the Christian church is its people. We are the ones who carry the Holy Spirit and the mission of Jesus Christ.. That strength begins with the quality of leadership in the congregation and ends with the dedication and willingness to submit of others in the church family. Not submit to their leaders, but to the Holy Spirit and God's will. Grace and gratitude are the fuel of the Christian church.

When we appreciate God's grace in our own lives enough to show grace to others the kind of harmony Jesus prayed for at the Last Supper comes alive.

We are the blessed because in God's love we have found each other. No things aren't always wonderful in our church. Perfection where people are involved is impossible. But God does not ask us to be perfect just to love as Jesus loves. With a compassion that compels us to feel the pain of those around us. America is filled with church orphans who think they are Christians but have no real idea how to live the faith.

On Sunday that the Holy Spirit brought the Christian church into being, the followers of Jesus were filled with a force so powerful it forced them to their feat speaking to all those around them in a way each outsider could understand. A once reluctant fisherman stood before the crowded street and preached a sermon that would make Billy Graham proud. The enthusiasm of Jesus followers flowed from the Spirit over everyone near by until people started shouting what do we have to do to get some of that?

What's changed from that Pentecost Sunday to today?

Some will say the Holy Spirit doesn't work that way anymore. Not with the open razzel dazzle that easily attracts the attention of outsiders. Others will say the faith was new back then and everyone expected Jesus to return soon. That's why those early folks of the church could afford to be so radical sharing all they had with each other, living in a 24 hour community.

All of which may be true. But in my own life I have experienced miracles that made others wonder. My father, my brother, and my son, all have been healed in ways that astounded there doctors. And as a pastor and lay person I have seen cancer disappear without surgery, a couple with multiple miscarriages after prayer start popping out babies like a movie theater machine.

Last Wednesday I accompanied Brother Wayne on our monthly church run to provide sandwiches and apples to homeless people. As I explained to Wayne dealing with homeless folks always scares and depresses me. I get scared, not because of the people, but because without the assistance of family I could very well be one of them. I get depressed because I feel selfish that I have so much and they so little. But then we start handing out the sandwiches and I see the reaction of those folks. It's so little for us but so much for them. Mostly, I think, because its shows somebody loves them. And maybe that they haven't been totally forgotten. So you're not going to convince me that the Holy Spirit doesn't still work in the life of the church.

And maybe Jesus isn't coming soon with the whole Kingdom of God, but who would doubt that we are living in apocalyptic times with change and danger all around us. Jesus may not be coming soon but let's not forget he is already here with a sizable chunk of the Kingdom. He is sitting here right next to each one of us in the person next to us. If we will only let go and let him through. The greatest gift of the Holy Spirit is that in spite of our sinful nature, and our need to take care of ourselves first, we have an intercessor that allows the love and grace of God to work through us. And when a bunch of us gather together and open ourselves to do Jesus, the Kingdom of God comes alive in our presence.

What could be better than that. What could be more valuable than that to the world?

That's what we as a church can offer each other, our family, our neighbors, and the whole world. That is something to get excited about.

Monty Keeling